Walls for buildings are typically constructed using either concrete panels raised in situ, single leaves of block, double leaves of brick or block, timber frame with cladding, or a modular insulation panel system attached to a light steel frame. Single leaf block walls, and double leaf brick or block walls are constructed relatively slowly and are labour intensive to build. Timber frame and cladding walls are only suitable for certain types of building and locations, and, like modular insulation panel construction, is typically used for rapid construction, semi-permanent or temporary buildings, and are not designed for industrial or commercial uses.
With economic demands to construct buildings as quickly and cost effectively as possible, tilt up wall panel systems have been developed. These allow sections of precast concrete to be formed, tilted upright and joined together to form a wall of a building. However, such concrete sections are either precast offsite and transported to the construction site for erection, which increases transportation costs and difficulty in handling/maneuvering large, extremely heavy concrete slabs into position with associated risk of injury to personnel and need for heavy lifting equipment, or alternatively, the concrete sections are cast onsite, which can be prone to bad weather delaying the sections drying or damaging the sections as they dry e.g. due to frost or rain. Such sections also need special lifting lugs and heavy lifting equipment to move them into position or tilt them upright. In either case, the solid concrete sections do not provide channels for utilities to pass through or along (vertically or horizontally) and provide little in the way of thermal insulation beyond the normal thermal characteristics of concrete.
At least one alternative form of wall construction for a building involves cutting and assembling framing, placing insulation, fixing an interior lining, fixing or applying an exterior material, and finishing both the exterior and interior surfaces e.g. for painting. This is a relatively complex and involved form of construction requiring many personnel and/or several different types of tradesman to complete the wall.
In addition to the above, existing insulated walling products for buildings may not include an interior lining i.e. a finished surface, nor do they allow for variable sized vertical structural columns to allow for different engineering requirements such as soil loading (foundations), multi-level/storey wind loading and earthquake safety. The vertical columns need to be made thicker and/or wider to accommodate more difficult or demanding ground loading situations, such as where the ground may suffer from instability and for extreme weather or earthquake protection purposes.
With the aforementioned in mind, it is desirable of the present invention to alleviate one or more problems associated with the known art.